Sugar Maple Varieties

Sugar maples are prized not only for their syrup-making sap, but also their fall color.

If you've eaten real maple syrup, you've tasted the sap of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum). Maple species are found throughout the United States -- they are valued for their hardiness and beautiful fall color -- but the sugar maple is most abundant in the Northeast, Lake states and mid-Atlantic states. It's so common in New York that it has been named the state tree. The sugar maple has two cultivars, plus two related species that thrive in the South.

Sugar Maple

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) grows 50 to 80 feet tall and up to 50 feet wide. It's a slow grower, about 12 inches per year. In the fall, its palmate leaves put on a spectacular show, turning a range of colors from red to yellow to orange. It's an excellent shade tree; its dense canopy supplies heavy shade to a yard. If you want to grow grass underneath a sugar maple, you must remove the lower limbs so enough sunlight comes through. Sugar maple grows best in areas with full sun and moist, fertile, well-drained soil that is slightly acidic (between 6.0 and 7.0 on the pH scale). It is a hardy tree, though excessive drought can weaken it and leave it susceptible to disease or insects. Water your sugar maple during dry periods. Sugar maple grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8A.

Green Mountain Sugar Maple

Green Mountain sugar maple (Acer saccharum "Green Mountain") is a faster-growing version of the standard sugar maple. It will reach 40 to 60 feet tall and 35 feet wide. It is vigorous and also produces the same vivid range of fall color as the sugar maple. Like its counterpart, it can have its trunk tapped in the winter for the sap that is boiled down to maple syrup. Green Mountain sugar maple grows in USDA zones 3 through 8.

Legacy Sugar Maple

Legacy sugar maple (Acer saccharum "Legacy") is a good choice for yards with drier soil. It is more drought tolerant than other sugar maples, according to the University of Illinois Extension. In the fall, its leaves turn a brilliant orange, but they do not drop off until spring. Legacy sugar maple grows in USDA zones 3 through 8.

Southern Sugar Maple

Southern sugar maple (Acer barbatum) is often used as a substitute for sugar maple (Acer saccharum) in the South. This heat-tolerant, deciduous tree grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant zones 7 through 9. It generally reaches only 20 to 25 feet tall and 20 to 40 feet wide. Its leaves turn yellow-orange to scarlet in the fall, but their colors are not as vibrant as the regular sugar maple. It can handle soil that is not moist, but it will not thrive in dry, compact soil. Southern sugar maple grows in USDA zones 7 through 9.

Chalk Maple

Chalk, or Chalkbark, maple (Acer leucoderme) is another variation of the sugar maple that is grown in the South (USDA zones 5 through 8). It is a smaller tree, reaching 25 to 30 feet tall and 15 to 30 feet wide, making it a good choice for patios and decks. It is drought tolerant and can grow in dry, even alkaline, soil. Chalk maple has striking white bark, and in the fall its leaves range in color from yellow-orange to dark red. Chalk maple grows in USDA zones 5B through 8B.

About the Author

Aileen Clarkson has been an award-winning editor and reporter for more than 20 years, earning three awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. She has worked for several newspapers, including "The Washington Post" and "The Charlotte Observer." Clarkson earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Florida.